Imaginative children’s theatre company Theatre-Rites will breathe new life into objects more usually found in the bin in its new show Rubbish this spring, beginning its national tour at the Southbank Centre.
From 11 to 21 April, families can enter a world where the contents of a bin bag come alive with the touch of a puppeteer’s hand. Old tea things create a duckling and cracked leather is transformed into a crotchety shoemaker as four intrepid excavators don protective gear and rummage through rubbish to make it into treasure.
Making themes of recycling and wastage accessible to a young audience, the Sue Buckmaster-directed production follows Theatre-Rites’ recent success Bank On It and previous productions including Houseworks, Sleep Tight and Finders Keepers.
Critically acclaimed for its innovative work combining puppetry, installations and music, The Guardian described Theatre-Rites as putting the “play back into the play and [producing] some of our most outstanding theatre of the past decade.”
As part of the show’s nationwide tour, Rubbish will arrive back in London for a short run at Deptford’s Albany Theatre on 24 and 25 May.
The show is suitable for children aged five and older, and you can find out more by watching the trailer above.